


At Your Door

by SilentReprobate



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, It's just mentioned briefly but still, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Puppy Zack Fair, Trans Cloud Strife, Trans Male Character, Trans Zack Fair, brief nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25658203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentReprobate/pseuds/SilentReprobate
Summary: An unexpected visitor shows up on Cloud's doorstep one stormy night.
Relationships: Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43
Collections: Slice of Clack: July 2020





	At Your Door

**Author's Note:**

> Another prompt for the [Slice of Clack](https://twitter.com/SliceOfClack) event. This time it was 'Alternate Universe' and we can see what I chose B)c Can't resist some puppy Zack

As a yawn leaves his lips, Cloud flops down on his couch, melting into the furniture to nurse his aches. The storm rolling in makes him grateful for finishing up the last of his deliveries for the day. Thunder rumbles with howling winds that seem to scratch at his door. He tries to keep his mind off it. It’s just his luck that the one night Tifa’s gone there has to be a storm that rattles in his bones.

He’s not normally this on edge. Yet, as the scratching gets louder, he finds the hair rising on his arms. It feels like he can’t ignore it even though he tries to. That is, when the sound of a whine, so low he almost misses it, comes from the other side of the door. Then another. Cloud sets down his food and stands nervously.

“Tifa, if that’s you it’s not funny,” He says to the door. It’s not like her to play a prank like this.

The scratching grows consistent and he feels like a fool for thinking it’s just the wind. There’s no sense being this paranoid. Nobody is out in the Nibel Mountains besides him and his leftover pizza. A little wind isn’t going to kill him. Not when he’s faced down worse things.

“Last chance!” he warns. One hand grabs the baseball bat near the entrance while the other reaches for the lock. A more forceful scratch hits the door and he flings it open with a shout.

Only to find a dog.

At least he thinks it is because the poor thing is covered entirely in mud. Its ears perk up with an excited yip, tail wagging a mile a minute. There’s no concern for the bat Cloud’s holding over his head as the canine moves closer. That’s enough of a sign to lower the weapon.

Curiously, he peeks out the door to see if anyone else is there then back down at the dog. The wind is still whipping pretty bad and another rumble of thunder earns a whimper from it. He reaches out only to have the dog dart forward into his hand with more soft sounds.

“Where did you come from?” Cloud asks, as if he’d get an answer. There aren’t many neighbors up this way that he knows of. All he can think of is maybe it’s one of those hybrid Nibel wolves, the ones talked about being bred with dogs, since this guy is way too tame. Seeing the way he nuzzles into Cloud’s touch is convincing enough. This has to be someone’s pet.

He pulls away to stand and finds blood on his fingers. A curse leaves his lips. He frowns as he takes another glance around outside. It’s too dark to see anything.

With the storm looming over, he can’t bring himself to leave him outside. Not to mention the risk of being attacked by any of the big predators in the mountains. There’s just one problem; he’s filthy. Tifa is going to kill him if he lets mud get everywhere.

“Alright, come on,” Cloud motions for the dog to follow, “Just don’t get any funny ideas.”

Tifa’s gone for one day and he’s already losing his mind talking to animals. He’s just as bad as Wedge with his cats.

Yet, somehow, it seems the dog seems to understand. He carefully toes his way into the apartment with a noticeable limp, keeping his head down, not touching anything. The dog behaves so well as he closely follows Cloud into the bathroom. No, Cloud has to be imagining it. Someone just trained him well enough and deserves a damn reward.

It becomes apparent how huge this dog really is when it steps into the tub easily. His back nearly touches his waist in height and somehow his tub looks way too small for him. It pulls a laugh from Cloud at the surreal situation he got himself into. “They must be feeding you steaks.”

A bark confirms it.

A lot of shampoo and vigorous scrubbing is what Cloud needs to get all the drying mud out of the fur. He’s clearly unprepared, using the whole bottle of his own shampoo, to take care of it. The water runs from the pinkish mud to clear water in what feels like too many hours but it’s long enough for the storm to blow over.

“Oh wow, there’s actually a dog under there,” Cloud snickers. He smooshes his cheeks, dragging his fingers through long, clean black fur. Getting in the dogs face like this isn’t a good idea, he thinks idly, no matter how trained- An onslaught of kisses cuts right through those thoughts. The tail bats against the tub with loud thumps.

Way too much slobber gets on his face as he nearly knocks Cloud over. He tries to shove the face away yet he can’t help the laughter that follows. “Come on! I don’t know where your mouth’s been!”

With another bark, he jumps out of the tub to shake out his fur, getting water droplets everywhere including Cloud.

Drying him off is another task entirely; one that yields little results as his towel ends up soaked but the fur still damp. It’ll have to do for now as he wades through fur to find any other injuries. Some medicine goes on the cut behind his ear but otherwise Cloud can’t find anything, even on the leg that was limping. Maybe they’ll stop by the vet in town to see if there’s something else or hell, hopefully, he’s chipped.

Throwing the towels to the side, Cloud stands with a grunt, watching as his new friend continues to wag his tail.

“You can stay for the night,” he explains to the dog who merely cocks his head, “But only ‘cause you’re cute.”

So he sets up a makeshift bed out of dry towels by the foot of his bed. Cloud turns his back to the dog to undress, throwing his own wet clothes aside, and slides under the blankets. A heavy exhale leaves his lips. Tifa is not going to believe this when she comes home tomorrow.

Just as Cloud turns off the light, the bed dips, nearly bouncing him in his spot. He sits up to find the dog in his bed. “No! Off!” He doesn’t budge. Soft blue eyes look up at him from where he’s bundled into the blankets; he’s pouting at him. This is just his luck.

Not about to risk getting a bite, he gives in, avoiding that damn look by rolling over with an exaggerated huff. Cloud settles in for the night with the heat of the dog against his back.

With morning comes the familiar sound of forest life filtering through the house as Cloud wakes. He nuzzles against the crook of his partner’s neck to fight the sun reaching through his shades. A comfortable weight of an arm over his waist is almost enough to lull him back to sleep.

Wait.

Eyes fly open.

Cloud flings himself off the bed to find a man sitting under the blankets. He looks around frantically to find the dog yet his eyes keep returning to the lying figure on his bed. This has to be a dream, right? Was last night just some figment of imagination? Thoughts are rushing around his head until familiar blue eyes look to Cloud and silence follows.

He’s only faintly aware of the sharp inhale he takes.

“Good morning,” The man says, voice thick with sleep, as he sits up to stretch his arms over his head. “Thanks for last night. That storm was something else.”

A laugh comes from him

Cloud’s eyes trail over his body, lingering on the scars on his chest, before down low to where the blankets begin to fall away from his waist. Red washes over Cloud’s face in realization and he looks away. This guy was naked too! What the hell is happening?!

“I’m not- This isn’t some dream, right? You were a dog…” Cloud can feel his brain struggling to keep up.

“I’m a shapeshifter. The name’s Zack.”

“Cloud,” he replies dumbly.

Zack pulls himself from the bed. Modesty is a second thought as the blankets fall away entirely showing off a familiar sight between- Eyes dart back up. There’s a cocky smirk on Zack’s face. “Like what you see?”

Cloud is not looking! This can’t be real. All the gears start moving in his head as he scrambles to his drawers, throwing the biggest pair of sweatpants at Zack’s face. It earns another laugh.

“Nope!” Cloud turns him around, pushing Zack before he can even put the pants on, and keeps his gaze everywhere but his backside. The guy is already taller than him giving Cloud a nice view of strong muscles moving with each step towards the front door. “Glad you’re okay, now you can leave.”

“Wait, can I see you again? You’re so cute,” Zack says, looking back over his shoulder with this radiant smile that goes straight to Cloud’s heart. It skips a beat and he glares to fight off the ever deepening red on his cheeks. It makes him fumble with the doorknob before he flings it open. “I promise I’ll wear clothes.”

Shoving him out of the house is no easy task; just like his dog form, Zack is a mass of strong muscle that’s near impossible to move. He slams the door behind him. The blood is rushing in his ears alongside the pounding of his heart as he leans against the door, his gaze up at the ceiling. Nothing about what’s going on feels real. Maybe he should stave off eating leftover pizza.

Zack’s laugh still makes its way through the door.

Cloud hates how he likes the sound of it. He buries his face in his hand with a pathetic groan.

“It was nice meeting you, Cloud,” Zack says, hopping around the porch to get the small pair of pants on. “Thanks again. I really appreciate it.”

All that follows is the creaky front steps that signals Zack’s departure. He stands there for a little longer than he likes as the thought of seeing Zack again… It’s enough to pull a smile on his face before he shakes it away to clean up the mess made from last night.


End file.
